LeBron James had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Miami Heat thrived on the holiday stage in a 96-80 victory over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Saturday.

Chris Bosh had 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade added 18 points on a sore knee for the visiting Heat, which won for the 14th time in 15 games while flustering the two-time defending NBA champions into a terrible offensive performance.

“We’re not trying to make a statement to anyone,” James said. “We’re trying to show each other that we can play at a high level. We’re happy because we got better today.”

Bryant and Pau Gasol had 17 points apiece for the Lakers, who fell behind early and never caught up to the tantalizing new contenders for their title.

Los Angeles dropped to 4-8 on Christmas since 1999, including last season’s one-sided loss to James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.

“It’s like these games mean more to our opponents than they do to us,” Bryant said. “I think we need to get that straight — play with more focus, put more (emphasis) on these games. I don’t like it.”

James, who made a season-high five 3-pointers, played a balanced, patient game, even after a technical foul near halftime for an under-the-basket scuffle with Lakers defensive stopper Ron Artest.

“I was in a WWE headlock, and I was trying to get out of it,” James said.

Magic 86, Celtics 78: Brandon Bass had 21 points and host Orlando ended Boston’s 14-game winning streak. Jameer Nelson and J.J. Redick each made a jumper in the final minutes to help the Magic rally from 12 points down in the second half for back-to-back wins against the NBA’s best. The Magic ended San Antonio’s 10-game winning streak earlier this week to win for the first time since orchestrating two blockbuster trades. Kevin Garnett had 22 points for Boston, which had not lost since Nov. 21 at Toronto.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, not a proponent of playing on Christmas, sarcastically suggested the NBA go from five to 10 games on Dec. 25 and start them at midnight. Lakers coach Phil Jackson is also among those who have expressed their discontent for playing on Christmas, saying he’d rather be home with his family.

Knicks 103, Bulls 95: Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton each had 20 points, and New York rallied to beat visiting Chicago. The Knicks, just 28th in the league in defense, didn’t allow a field goal for more than 8 minutes after the game was tied in the opening minutes of the fourth period. Rookie Landry Fields of Stanford added 14 points and 11 rebounds for New York. Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 19 rebounds for the Bulls, who lost for the second time in 11 games.

Thunder 114, Nuggets 106: NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant had 44 points — 21 in the third quarter — and host Oklahoma City beat Denver. James Harden added 21 points for the Thunder in the first Christmas game in the franchise’s three-season tenure in Oklahoma City. Durant, who entered the game with a 27.5-point average, was 14 of 20 from the field but had only four points in the fourth quarter. Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony missed his second straight game after leaving the team to be with his family after the death of his sister. Coach George Karl said he doesn’t expect Anthony to return for a home game today against Philadelphia. Anthony’s sister, Michelle Anthony, died of a pre-existing medical condition Tuesday in Baltimore.

Wizards: The team suspended Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee for one game for conduct detrimental to the team. They won’t play today at San Antonio. The Washington Post reported the two were involved in an altercation outside an area club early Friday, and punches were thrown. “After further investigation, we concluded Andray and JaVale conducted themselves in an unprofessional manner,” team president Ernie Grunfeld said.